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Friday, 19 June 2015

‘Behind the Text’ 5 ‘STAY-ALIVE RUNS AWAY’

‘Stay-Alive Runs Away’ is Book 13 in the publication order of the16 books in the ‘Jonas Forbes Saga’ and stands apart from
the rest.

It’s the FIRST
in the sequence, being set in 1954 Kenya during the Mau Mau Emergency.

It’s set before Jonas
Forbes became an ‘Enquiry Agent’ . Here he’s a Sub-Inspector in the colonial
police.

Neither of
the other two main characters in the series (John Wyatt & Vanessa Holmes)
appear.

Here Jonas Forbes
is a HUNTER whereas in most of the other books he is normally the HUNTED or, at best,
an IRREGULAR fighting for Justice with questionable methods. Why? Because the protagonist OUTSIDE authority adds to the tension.

Murigo ‘Stay-Alive’
Johnson is a very unhappy Askari because he’s ill-fitted for the job & he’s
bullied. He witnesses an atrocity carried out by his unit & later learns a
dangerous secret. Under pressure to reveal all, he runs away but is hunted down
by a patrol led by Jonas. But the story certainly doesn’t end there!

Jonas is
another outsider. As a soldier in the Korean War he fitted in. With peace
(1953) he left the army & joined the Kenyan Police but soon found that to
be a mistake. This book covers his entire career as a policeman!

Both Mau Mau
insurgents and colonial forces include men who’d be villains wherever they might
inflict themselves upon the world. Both
sides mistreat / abuse /exploit the ‘non-combatants’, just adding to the misery
in a Kenya moving towards nationhood at a speed unacceptable to extremists.

This isn't
a pleasant book to read (nor to write!) & it’s certainly not an encouraging
one. I found myself exploring unwelcome sides of human nature. Both the
villains & their victims experience justice of some kind. But that isn’t
the fate of Stay-Alive Johnson. I’ve researched Mau Mau & consider it caused
far more misery to the native population than to the colonial masters – often because
of the unjust repercussions its activities provoked from the authorities. Don’t expect a clear-cut
picture of a struggle for independence. As in so many other parts of the
world extremists on both sides load misery, barbarity and suffering on the long-suffering
majority.

A few
real-life figures appear but I’ve tried to invent examples from the whole range
of humanity – differing in race, faith, wealth, occupation, but mostly
experience. I leave it to the Reader to set their own ‘red-line’ for acceptable
behaviour. I found mine all too often being smudged by events & so difficult
to define. As in the other books, characters & situations ran away with me.
I hope they do with the Reader.

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About Me

I've retired from a career mainly in teaching / training. My main subject was History, although I did teach English, Sociology, Psychology & EFL at various times.I've also worked as an analyst / programmer in Training computer software 20+ years ago. I'm married with one daughter & 2 grandsons. I live near Chichester, Sussex in England and my hobbies include Family History.

During the last 20 years much of my time has been spent on writing 'The Wanderer' trilogy' (4 Historical fiction novels in print) & the 'Jonas Forbes Saga', 16 thrillers set 1954-73. I've done extensive historical research all behind these books. You can find out more about them at www.cuthan.blogspot.com.